If there are roots exposed they are too shallow. Replant them. The problem with just adding the soil to the top is that it will often just wash away again. You need to dig them out and make the holes deeper so all the roots are below grade level.

welcome to the forums.. we like teaching .. so never fear to ask ... we need to know where you are .. big city name.. zone not good enough ... IN EVERY POST ... or change your name so its included there .. everything can be moved ... at just about any time ... but not in the dead heat of summer ... and not when in bloom.. unless its for some other reason ...like building a deck or something ... specific answers would be best.. posting is free ... so pic one of your plants.. start with a plant specific title .... give us a picture or two ... [not straight down] ... we can ID it.. and give you ideas on what to do with it .. plants should never get too old .. but on the other hand.. nothing is plant and forget forever.. when they start to decline .. you should dig them up.. keep a couple of good pieces.. and get rid of junky parts ... it can be called regeneration ... or dividing ... also.. if something like a peony is not blooming.. it could be that when it was planted 25 years ago ... it was in sun.. and now its in shade ... so we need to see if that is the case ... learn how to grow your plants.. learn how to move them around . and then later.. worry about the form or type of garden ... ken

Sheila - thank you! I love it, though the squirrels keep munching on it the very early growth so lose a lot of the blooms. But what time of year do you prune after blooming (eg July) or late winter? I’ve seen both recs - hence my confusion. And you don’t cut back the laterals at all? Also - does yours always make clusters? My randomly cluster flowerers, or not...

clay is one of the better spoils to grow in.. if you think about it.. ALL ball and burlap stock is grown in clay.. you can NOT make a root ball in sand.. bad clay is al about drainage.. and getting a new transplant to live long enough to put its own roots int he clay.. no matter how poorly you water .. you want to avoid digging a ceramic hole.. which does not drain.. and then putting the tree in it.. and hoping you can hit perfect watering.. not to rot the roots off.. as gal states.. the proper way to do it is to plant 'high' .. the tree.. not you.. lol ... so that when you water.. excess is shed away form the hole ... see if any of these show you the way.. if they disagree with us.. pshaw on them.. go on to the next vid:https://duckduckgo.com/?q=planting+high+in+clay+soil&t=ffab&iax=videos&ia=videos ken